By Tyler F. Thompson (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
FAIR GROVE, Mo. — The host Fair Grove Lady Eagles entered Saturday afternoon’s Class 2 state quarterfinal tilt sporting a 38-0 record.
Their opponent, the Lady Cardinals of Miller, entered the Eagles’ gym 29-6-2.
In short: something had to give.
And the Lady Eagles, with a trip to the Class 2 state semifinals on the line, punched their ticket as they defeated the Cardinals in four sets: 18-25, 25-9, 25-13, 25-14.
Fair Grove will now get the chance to defend its state title.
It wasn’t all roses, though, as Miller forced took the first set.
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A common intangible this year.
“They have improved a lot throughout the season,” head coach Tonya Peck said of Miller. “Hats off to them. The errors were on our side of the net, so I told the girls that we had to make a change. They responded. Our hitting got back to where Fair Grove volleyball should be.”
As the teams came out in the second, the Eagles, with a renewed confidence, utilized a stingy front-line defense — complemented by the play of 6’0” senior middle hitter Shea Skouby, 5’9” junior outside hitter Sofee Garrett and 6’0” senior middle hitter Abbey Green and company.
The resolve, the character was palpable.
“This group of kids, they are great leaders, great[er] human beings off the court than they are athletes on the court,” Peck said of her crew. “That is a huge testament to them. They are multisport athletes. They do not miss anything.”
The Eagles applied the pressure — turning the tables on the visiting Cardinals — as they began to force the errors.
The Cardinals had six late errors in the second set, giving the defending state champions all the momentum they needed.
“They do not stop, 24-7. They love to compete for Fair Grove,” Peck said.
Before the match, the Eagles were in the proverbial ‘zone’ behind-the-scenes having a dance competition while flicking on and off the lights.
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE MATCH
If there were any nerves, no one knew it.
“I think it does help us,” Skouby said. “Before games, we like to sing and dance, and I think it helps us correlate that into the game to be loose and not be all tense and nervous. Obviously, in the first set, we dropped it but that was just first-set nerves. We showed our real game the next three sets.”
The Eagles now prepare for a tough Hermann team at the Class 2 state semis at 8 p.m. on Nov. 8.
Hermann enters 19-15. Last season, Fair Grove beat Hermann 3-2 in the Class 2 state championship match.
